Approaches to Green Finance: India, China, the United States, and the European Union

Join Zoom Meeting

https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/4086425143

Meeting ID: 408 642 5143

Abstract

As the economic and social costs of climate change are projected to rapidly increase by 2050, governments around the world are using different strategies to mobilize green capital towards decarbonization and environmentally sustainable development. The purpose of this study is to compare the green finance strategies employed by the four largest GHG emitting economies in the world – the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, and India. By using a scoping literature review of scholarly research, government reports, and non-governmental reports, the evolution of green finance strategies in each of the four economies was studied. The green finance strategies were categorized into a framework with five components: (i) Green Finance Taxonomy, (ii) Green Financial System, (iii) Green Bonds Standards, (iv) Green Fiscal Instruments (GFI), and (v) Green Stimulus & Incentives (GSI). All four economies were compared based on this framework and a summary of their approaches was described. The European Union’s approach to green finance was found to be the most comprehensive and they appear to have embraced their position as a global leader by providing recommendations on how to harmonize their green finance standards with newly developed international standards.